MD2 Notebook: Dominican's Western Realities

With no established East Coast
teams making the trip to Northern California this spring, Dominican
couldn't build a strong enough schedule to realistically sustain a
loss and still be viable for the NCAAs. Penguins head coach Ned
Webster (above) is hoping there will be a way to change that in the
future. (Dominican Athletics)

Sitting in the airport waiting for Dominican's flight back to
San Francisco International on Sunday evening, Ned Webster was
speaking into the memo function on his smartphone. There was a lot
flowing through his head after the Penguins 1-1 weekend in
Colorado, including the one-goal loss to Colorado Mesa that gave
the Mavericks a leg-up in the race for the WILA crown earlier that
day.

It was a game that looked to be in the bag for the Penguins.
Despite facing a rash of injuries and two games in three days
– including an overtime affair with Adams State on Friday
night – Dominican held an 8-6 lead with under six minutes to
play. Over the span of 2:08, Mesa flipped the outcome with three
goals, including a pair of markers 13 seconds apart for the 9-8
final.

"If you look at the last five minutes of the game, they played
very well and we played poorly," Webster conceded. "I think we had
five turnovers alone in the fourth quarter, and I would guess that
most of those turnovers were in the last five minutes of the game.
They put some pressure on us and caused some of those turnovers,
but we didn't do a good job of protecting our sticks and escaping
the pressure. All three of their goals to end the games were fast
breaks and one of things we pride ourselves on is not giving up
transition, so it's a tough pill to swallow to see them all be
4-v-3 or even 3-v-2. We didn't have a great finish."

The loss drops Dominican to 7-3 season and ends whatever distant
hopes the Penguins – or any western programs – had of
being in the NCAA tournament mix. Despite Dominican's win over
Queens, which went on to post wins against Mercyhurst and Pfeiffer
this season, the NorCal program didn't have the strength of
schedule to suffer any losses this spring. So when it did take that
first defeat three days later against Pfeiffer, that bubble had
burst.

"We certainly didn't achieve our goals," Webster said. "At the
beginning of the year, we looked at our roster and saw the depth at
every position and believed that we could beat anyone in the
country. I'm obviously biased, but I truly believe that. If we
played Pfeiffer another nine times, we would fare better. Heck,
even one more time."

Dominican, along with the rest of the WILA teams, had trouble
this year getting the high-end games they needed to stay in the
postseason discussion. In year's past, Chestnut Hill, Adelphi and
NYIT traveled to the Bay Area to face Dominican and its travel
partner, NDNU, but that was under the old regional format when the
western teams were slotted in the Central region with the ECC. Now
in the North-South alignment, the WILA squads are in the south, so
the allure of playing in a warm-weather locale is diminished. And
with the gradual improvement of the western teams over the past
several years, many northern teams are likely leery of adding a
February date against a team that has been practicing outside for a
month.

With no teams coming westward, Domincan and others had to
maximize their one trip east by stacking two weeks of games into a
spring break, often putting themselves at a competitive
disadvantage. At this point, it's just something that has to
happen.

"As a coach I'm not going to say that I like losing, but I
believe it is essential for the development of a program,
especially for a team that is so young," Webster said. "You have to
take some lumps to get better and it would be nice to get a chance
to prove ourselves later in the season going against some of those
teams that are ranked higher than us right now. It was a bit
frustrating for all of us, and I just hope that next year it will
be different. I hope that teams will come out to California and
play us so we can take a loss or two to improve and still be in the
consideration for the postseason."

The plight of the WILA teams has brought about the question as
to whether the D-II NCAA tournament should be used as a way to grow
the division outside of its traditional boundaries. On one side of
the discussion are the WILA teams, which would like any kind of
dedicated access to the tourney, even if only in a play-in
capacity, to make the sport more viable for prospective programs.
More western teams lessens the travel/budget burden, with the
conventional wisdom saying that will spawn even more programs.

On the other side of the argument are the established programs
in the east, many which who had to go through a decade's worth of
futility under the old four-bid system before gaining entrance to
the tournament. A lot of those teams endured their share of growing
pains, travel hassles and one-loss seasons that did not gain them
entrance to the tourney on their way to build successful programs,
so the notion of deeding the western teams a mandated slot just
because the tournament has expanded to eight teams is often met
with derision.

Webster understands that argument and doesn't discount it. He
also doesn't want the western teams to get the reputation of being
a bunch of whiners. He's just frustrated, and he's trying to devise
a solution that will work for all parties involved, but within the
budgetary confines of a Division II institution. He knows the
western teams will someday get in the mix, and he points to his
alma mater, Notre Dame, as proof positive.

"In my freshman year in '95, we played Duke as a No. 12 seed and
everybody was laughing at us," Webster said. "And we go down to
Durham and we knock them off. Duke probably had one of the best
teams they had at that point. It obviously helped Notre Dame and
other schools, and made people think about the big picture."

For now, the Penguins focus conists of capturing the WILA for a
second straight season by winning the rest of their games and
beating Colorado Mesa by more than two goals when they meet again
in San Rafael on April 27. The big picture stuff will have to wait
another year.

Wheeling and Dealing for an NCAA Bid

Bryce Brochu had six goals and
two assists in Wheeling Jesuits' upset victory over Seton Hill this
week and has the Cardinals in the thick of the NCAA tournament
hunt. (Wheeling Jesuit Athletics)

Looking at the Wheeling Jesuit schedule, it was tough to get too
excited about the Cardinals because the slate lacked a certain
heft. Leading into Saturday's game against Seton Hill, Wheeling had
played just one opponent with the kind of gravitas that turns the
selection committee's collective heads. And that was a seven-goal
loss to Lake Erie.

Then came the 18-12 victory over the Griffins this weekend.

"This win certainly helps validate our 9-1 record, but more
important than that, it is a reflection of the potential our team
has when they play with confidence and come ready to compete from
the opening whistle," said Wheeling Jesuit head coach Kevin Dugan.
"Realizing our full potential is more important to me than the
national rankings, and we have been taking some nice steps forward
since our Lake Erie game that have us moving in the right
direction. Our goal is to be playing our best lacrosse towards the
end of April and I am really happy with where we are as a program
right now."

With no team stepping up to claim the final spot in the south
region bracket with any kind of authority, the Cardinals find
themselves in the midst of that discussion. With a game against a
resurgent Mercyhurst program on Saturday, Dugan isn't getting
caught up in that hype quite yet.

"I honestly don't worry about it too much because of the quality
of teams in our conference," Dugan said of the NCAAs. "Being in the
ECAC is a real blessing to our program, because we are in a
conference where more than likely you are going to have at least
two teams make the NCAA tournament."

Wheeling Jesuit is definitely a team peaking at the right time,
and will be a handful for the rest of the conference in the regular
season as well as the all-important ECAC-II tournament.

"Our win against Seton Hill was a total team effort, and the
thing I am most pleased with was our decision making all over the
field," Dugan said. "Defensively we are improving on a lot of the
little nuances that in isolation are little things, but that add up
over the course of a 60 minute game. Offensively our shot selection
has improved dramatically. As has been the case all year long our
seniors have a special sense of urgency that helps carry the team.
They are definitely the heartbeat of the team and served as the
driving force on Saturday. I am fortunate to have the seniors and
the assistant coaches that I have."

Lacrosse Magazine's Player of the Week

Bryce Brochu, Soph., A – Wheeling
Jesuit
In a game that would have essentially eliminated the Cardinals
from the NCAA hunt, the Ontario native stepped up and kept Wheeling
in the mix by knocking off Seton Hill, 18-12. Brochu scored six
goals, including four in the first half helping WJU build a 10-3
lead, while also dishing out a pair of assists.

"Bryce is a an All-American caliber player and has proved that
all season," said Wheeling Jesuit head coach Kevin Dugan. "His
spirit and demeanor is what makes him so special. His physical
talents and competitive fire, coupled with a real humble spirit is
a unique and special thing. The beautiful thing about Bryce is that
he never stops having fun playing lacrosse; he has so much natural
passion for the game."

Bracket Watch

When Merrimack went into overtime with Pace, it was hard not to
think the Warriors were about to absorb their annual soul-snatching
defeat. Fortunately, Andrew Vivian saved The 'Mack's bacon with an
overtime snipe, keeping Mike Morgan's crew ensconced in the fourth
slot. The Warriors almost had a chance to clear some extra
breathing room when Molloy brought NYIT to a fourth overtime, but
the Bears pulled out the 13-12 win and remained just a step
behind.

Wheeling Jesuit moves into the fourth spot in the South, but it
is a tentative visit at this point. The Cardinals win over Seton
Hill resonates, along with their sterling in-region record (9-1),
but when the final whistle blows, the strength of schedule could be
an issue. A win over Mercyhurst next weekend will obviously bank
the fourth spot for Wheeling. Alas, if Pfeiffer beats Limestone on
Saturday, the Falcons will take a stranglehold on the last
chair.

Slides & Rides

- Leading 7-5 late in the third quarter after scoring six of the
last seven goals, LIU Post looked like they were in control of
Mercyhurst and headed for a much-needed win in order to get back in
the NCAA race. Little did we know that the Pioneers were done
scoring, stifled by the Lakers defense that held Post scoreless for
the final 17:34 of the contest. On the flipside, the 'Hurst offense
started the grind, scoring four goals over that same span, flipping
the two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead and the eventual 9-7
triumph. There were a lot of key contributors for Mercyhurst, but
you can start with FOGO Mitch McAvoy, who went 17-for-20 on the day
and kept the Pioneers from stringing together goals.

- The bad, midseason conference loss has haunted Merrimack the
last couple of years and the Warriors came ever so close to
suffering another on Saturday. They needed extra time to take down
Pace – a team that is 2-7 overall and 1-7 in the
Northeast-10. Andrew Vivian scored the game winner with 1:08 left
in OT, improving Merrimack to 8-3 overall and keeping them in the
driver's seat for the fourth bid in the North. "They played really
well," said Merrimack coach Mike Morgan of Pace. "Now them being
down one versus Adelphi at home two weeks ago with two minutes left
makes sense. They are skilled and Coach Mariano has them
competing." The Setters were led by William Scioscia (4g, 4a).

- Believe it or not, it's conference tournament time, at least
for the South Atlantic Conference. Queens earned the No. 1 seed and
hosting priveledges in the inaugural SAC tourney and will play No. 4
Coker on Thursday at 4 p.m. That game will be followed by No. 2
Lenoir-Rhyne battling No. 3 Mars Hill. The championship game will
be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. also at Queens. While there are no
automatic qualifiers in Division II, the Royals must win the
tournament if they want to keep themselves in the discussion for
the NCAA tournament. With wins over Mercyhurst and Pfeiffer, Queens
is viable, but anything but a SAC title would be lights out for Jim
Fritz's outfit.

- Molloy took NYIT to four overtimes and goalie John Grebe did
everything he could, making eight of his 19 saves in extra time,
but the Lions eventually fell in the 74th minute when Tom Hughes
connected for the Bears. Losing a game in that fashion is always
heartbreaking, but furthering the pain is the setback likely
bounced Molloy from the inaugural, four-team ECC tourney. If both
the Lions and Chestnut Hill win out, as they should, both teams
will be 5-3, but the Griffins hold the head-to-head – a 11-10
overtime win back in March – which cedes them the bid. Had
Molloy defeated NYIT, it would control its own fate. Now the Lions
must hope that either Dist. Columbia or Roberts Wesleyan upend
Chestnut Hill. Dowling, NYIT and LIU Post still must settle how the
Top 3 seeds are going to stack up.

- The four teams are set for the inaugural Sunshine State
Conference tournament, which begins this weekend with the
semifinals and then concludes on April 26. Tampa is the top seed
and will host as long as it is alive while Florida Southern will be
in the second chair. Both Saint Leo and Rollins are in, but they'll
play on Tuesday to determine the third and fourth seed. The winner
heads to Florida Southern, the loser to Tampa.

- Mount Olive sophomore Matt Shields set the school's
single-game record for goals with eight in a 20-3 victory over
Walsh...Le Moyne finishes the Northeast-10 schedule against teams
that are a combined 10-24. The Dolphins will be rooting for
Merrimack this weekend against Adelphi in order to trigger some
kind of three-way tie-breaker that could land them the No. 1 seed
in the NE-10 tourney...to prepare itself for its Conference
Carolinas showdown with Pfeiffer next weekend that will determine
the top seed and home field advantage for the league tournament,
Limestone scrimmaged the MLL's Charlotte Hounds on Sunday.
Charlotte's head coach, Mike Cerino, is the Saints athletic
director...the ECAC tourney still could go through Painesville,
Ohio...Bentley has some breathing room as the No. 4 seed in the
NE-10 tourney.